Why is NPR suddenly talking about the zombie apocalypse???

I don’t know what the deal with NPR is, but they’ve been giving a lot of attention to the zombie apocalypse lately.  I’m being totally serious.

Last Friday they interviewed someone with a book about math and the zombie apocalypse.  A few days before that they had a bit about a course in zombie studies.  Today I heard a caller on their morning call-in show ask a question about the zombie apocalypse. 1

What is it about zombies, apocalypses, or zombie apocalypses that has brought these issues to the forefront of NPR’s coverage?

Halloween?  Full moons?  The recent Resident Evil movie?

  1. It seems that this trend may go back well over a year… []